


Kissing a Stranger

by ericaismeg



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, First Kiss, I don't know, M/M, Pack Bonding, Pack in College, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, post-show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-03-24
Packaged: 2018-01-16 21:37:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1362580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/ericaismeg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I'm sure everyone's seen the First Kiss video (found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpbDHxCV29A). So this is a Sterek version, inspired by the concept of strangers kissing.</p><p>***</p><p>Caitlin asks Stiles to be part of another one of her social experiments. He agrees. Apparently, so does Derek Hale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kissing a Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second Teen Wolf work, and I'm feeling a little insecure about it too. But I don't know. I wrote this on a few subway rides to and from school on my iPhone. So any mistakes are mine, and please feel free to point them out!

♚♞♚♞♚♞

 

            “I can’t concentrate on this paper,” Stiles mutters. He looks up at Scott, who is sitting across from him at the library table with his head down, smiling at his cell phone. Stiles isn’t upset to see that Scott’s gone into Kira-land again. Well, that’s nothing new.

            Stiles likes Kira a lot though—especially after everything she did to save his life in their last year of high school. The girl has some major parental issues after that. As far as Stiles knows, she’s barely back on speaking terms with her mother. He bets she’ll be okay though, because her strength is to be admired. She hadn’t even known him that well at the time, but had unknowingly adopted Allison’s family code: “We protect those who cannot protect themselves.”

            His thoughts suddenly turn to Allison Argent. God he misses her sometimes. Of course, they see each other every other Friday at Pack Night. It’s not quite the same though. It’s not as if he and Allison had ever been close by any means, but they  _have_  been through a lot together. Even when the craziness had quieted down, and Beacon Hills had stopped having a bad guy of the week, Stiles had appreciated their quiet friendship.

            Peter Hale, of all people, had insisted on Pack Night when everyone started to apply for colleges and universities. He explained that it’s a good way to keep everyone together. The entire pack had balked, and argued against listening to anything that Peter Hale had to say. Of course, Lydia decided it was perfect. She flew in from her university every other Friday, to be there just like everyone else. That’s commitment.

            Stiles is looking forward to this particular Pack Night. It’s his turn to choose the movie (finally), and he’s chosen Star Wars for obvious reasons. He focuses his eyes back on Scott. The kid is happy as a lark (Stiles needs to look up where that saying came from and adds it to his mental list) and Stiles couldn’t be happier for him.

            The truth is Stiles doesn’t just miss Allison. He misses  _everyone_. He wishes they could all do Pack Night every weekend, but for justified reasons they couldn’t. Everyone seems to be paired up these days though. Scott is going to propose to Kira, but not  _actually_  get married until after college, thanks to Stiles’ wise advice. Allison and Isaac have been going strong since everything calmed down, and Scott proved to be okay with them. Lydia and Jackson are on again (Jackson’s an asshole though, and Lydia can do better). The twins, Ethan and Aiden, both have significant others (Danny was aware of the supernatural world  _for three years_  without letting on  _once_ ). Erica and Boyd are happily married now, which for some reason, is less weird as it probably should be. Stiles has to admit, he wants a love like theirs. It’s solid.

            Stiles frowns, feeling a little like Derek. Now  _there_ ’s a man who has serious relationship issues. God, Stiles feels a little sorry for him. His loft tends to be where Pack Night happens, and when everyone pairs up on the couches and floor, Stiles is stuck with Derek. Since this, he’s started to get to know Derek better than ever.

            His thoughts are interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. He glances up, and recognizes a girl from his English lit class. “Sorry to bother you Stiles, but I’m wondering if you could help me out with a project.”

            Stiles smiles at her, keeping it easy-going. The girl’s name is Caitlin, and she does many social experiments. She’s asked him to be in a couple of them before, which he has all said yes to. She had admitted once that it’s hard to get people to agree to do strange things before. Of course, with Stiles’ experience with ‘strange things’, these social experiments of hers seem fun and easy.

            “Hey Caitlin. What’s the project this time?” he asks, as he pulls out the chair beside him for her. Her eyes light up as she sits down.

            “It’s called  _First Kiss_. I want to film two strangers interacting for a few minutes, and then sharing their first intimate kiss.” Caitlin’s caught his attention for the first time in six days. He tilts his head to study her excitement about the project. “I’ll be studying a bunch of different pairs of strangers, filming them, and then doing a follow-up with them two weeks later.”

            “What’s this going to--?”

            “Prove? Well, I have a hypothesis that if you just get that awkward, but intimate, kiss out of the way without really getting to know someone, it’s much easier to relax around him or her, to be yourself, and to get to know them. I’ll ask each pair to exchange numbers, and see if anything comes from it when I do follow-up interviews.” Caitlin grins widely.

            Stiles thinks about the lack of  _everything_  he has in his life right now. He glances over at Scott, who, of course, hasn’t even noticed that Caitlin is sitting with them. He’s grinning from ear to ear on his face. He turns back to Caitlin. “Sure, count me in. Anything to spice up my life.”

            She claps her hands together, and Scott doesn’t even acknowledge this. Stiles rolls his eyes slightly, but smiles at Caitlin. “Oh, Stiles, you’re the best! I already know who I want you to kiss! Thank you so much.”

            “When’s this going down?” Stiles asks, shaking his head in amusement.

            “Tomorrow afternoon. Around 4pm,” she adds. “I’ll be in Studio C. We were just there a few weeks ago, do you remember it?”

            “Yep!” Stiles says, nodding. “I can do that. So who’s this person you’ve got lined up for me already?”

            She laughs. “No way. You’ll creep Facebook, and then you won’t be strangers anymore. You’re great, Stiles.”

            Ah, she knows him well enough to know that that is exactly what he’d wanted to do. Caitlin kisses his cheek before she stands up, and rushes away.

            Stiles glances back down at the paper he’s supposed to be writing. How the hell is he supposed to do that when he has a scheduled first kiss happening tomorrow? He wishes his love life is more interesting that Caitlin wouldn’t ask him to be part of this social experiment. Since it isn’t, he figures he has nothing to lose.

            “Yo, Scotty,” he says, leaning forward and waving his hand in front of Scott’s face. Scott jumps back and looks at him with such a surprised expression that Stiles is sure he had forgotten that he is there. “Dude, what kind of werewolf are you? Jumping back like that.”

            “Shut up, I was distracted,” Scott says, but he looks a little worried. Stiles knows the expression. “Sorry, I should have—”

            “Why don’t you go hang out with Kira? You’re not being productive anyway,” Stiles offers. He glances down at his own work. “I think I’m going to go hang out with someone more...present.”

            “Sorr—”

            “No apologises,” Stiles interrupts. He starts to pack up his stuff. “Seriously Scott, go on. Get out of here.”

            “Thanks dude. I just know you’ve—”

            “Don’t want to hear it,” Stiles says, shaking his head. He gives Scott a genuine smile. “I’ll just go back to my room and find something else to do. Go have fun.”

            “Thanks,” Scott says again. In seconds, his stuff that he hadn’t touched in the past hour is packed, and he’s gone.

            Stiles doesn’t move as fast to pack. He plans to go back to his dorm room, but the truth is he won’t get any work done there either. He needs to socialize. He calls Erica, to see if she’s free to hang out on campus, but she laughs.

            “Honey, I’m a married woman now...who uses her lunch breaks to do naughty things to her husband.” Erica’s grin can be heard on Stiles’ end.

            “Get a room,” Stiles mutters, hanging up without another word. It’s not as if Erica was listening anyway. He dials Isaac next. It’s not as though they hadn’t had their issues in the past, but they’d worked through them. Sort of. Isaac doesn’t pick up though, and Stiles wonders if he’s screening his call.

            The only other people on campus would be the twins, but Stiles knows that Ethan and Danny are tied together at the hip. Aiden freaks Stiles out still. The guy just offers to kill people or things too easily. Besides, Aiden has sex with his girlfriend every twenty minutes. Stiles doesn’t have to be a werewolf to know that.

            He hovers over Derek’s name on his cell phone. The truth is he would like to hang out with Derek, because they owed each other a lot over the past few years. He wouldn’t call Derek though, since the man would just grunt and hang up on him anyway.

            Stiles sighs and heads back to his room, feeling defeated. On his way back, he calls Lydia and asks her to entertain him.

            “Stiles, it’s the middle of the day. I have class in twenty minutes,” she tells him. However, her voice softens. “I know the shift into college hasn’t been easy for you. Is Scott seriously that hung up on Kira? You know what—don’t answer that. Why don’t you join a club, and meet some new people?”

            He shrugs, even though she can’t see him from across the country. “I don’t know, Lyd. I feel as though everyone got to move on with someone. Everyone’s all paired up and I’m just Caitlin’s social experiment dummy.”

            Lydia laughs. “What does she have you doing now?”

            Stiles explains it as he enters his bedroom. He drops his backpack beside his bed, and sits at his desk chair.

            “That’s interesting. She does the strangest things,” Lydia comments. There’s some background noise and she says, “Stiles, honey, I have to go. Join a club though, or become Caitlin’s social experiment partner! Feel better. Love you!”

            “Love you too,” he responds. She clicks off. He remembers a time when he would have killed someone to hear Lydia say those words. Now they came effortlessly from both of them. It’s partially due to Peter’s Pack Night agreement. Stiles finds it a little amusing that Peter was so hell-bent on Pack Night, with rules that everyone should admit how they feel about each other, and to always be honest, but he rarely showed up himself. Stiles figures he didn’t think they’d take his suggestion seriously, and he probably assumed that no one wanted him there.

            He starts to doodle on a piece of paper. God, he should be working on his paper right now.

 

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞

 

            Four o’clock can’t come fast enough for Stiles. He’d managed to procrastinate his paper until midnight. He’d finished it at 2:30am, handed it in at 8am, and just spent the rest of the day wasting time until he could walk over.

            Caitlin greets him with her usually bright smile, and ushers him in quickly. She puts him behind a curtain, and demands for him to stay quiet.

            He nods, feeling a little awkward, and pulls out his phone. No texts. Man, his phone used to go off all the time when the pack was constantly protecting Beacon Hills. Since everything had balanced out, Stiles realized that he wasn’t a social butterfly. Dammit.

            “Okay, I would like you to both walk out now!” Caitlin shouts.

            Stiles slips his phone into his pocket, and steps forward. He pushes the curtain out of the way, and walks to the center of the studio. He glances at Caitlin, who’s behind the camera, and frowns. His stranger didn’t come out.

            Stiles isn’t going to think about how weird this social experiment is, because he’s so  _bored_  of doing nothing. This is the most interesting thing that’s happened to him since...two months ago. God, when did  _he_  get pathetic? That’s usually Derek Hale. Derek is always the sad puppy of the group.

            “It’s okay,” Caitlin says, her voice calming. “I know you were nervous, but come on out. It’ll be okay.”

            The curtain on the other side of the studio parts and out walks the most gorgeous creature. Stiles’ heart starts to pound. This can _not_  be happening. Derek Hale is his stranger. Of course, Caitlin wouldn’t have known that they knew each other. Why would Stiles know someone like  _Derek Hale_? That’s ridiculous.

            Stiles’ eyes widened, and he wonders if Derek is going to tell Caitlin that they know each other. Stiles feels shell-shocked. Derek, Derek,  _Derek Hale and he would be kissing if Derek doesn’t do something about it!_  There’s no way in hell that Stiles is admitting he knows Derek.

            Caitlin probably wouldn’t believe him if he told her anyway. It’s more believable if it comes from Derek.

            “H—hi,” Stiles stammers out. He sounds nervous. He sounds like if he had been holding a glass in his hand, it would have shattered the moment Derek stepped out. Stiles remembers the last time he was  _this_  nervous—it’d been Scott’s big game, right after he’d turned into a werewolf. God  _that_  had been stressful. Not nearly as stressful as these long seconds are.

            Derek cocks his head at him, curiously. “Hi.”

            Of fucking course Derek Hale sounds calm as shit.  _Fuck this_ , Stiles thinks.  _Fuck Derek. How is he not freaking out right now?_  Then again, he’s probably just going to clear the mess up with Caitlin. Right? Right.

            Derek looks at Caitlin. Thank god, he’s going to break it to her that they can’t do this. “So do we introduce ourselves or...?”

             _Wait, what? Derek, what?_

            Caitlin shrugs. “Whatever you’re comfortable with!”

            Derek looks back at Stiles.

            “You know,” Stiles says, trying his damn hardest to keep his cool, “that she wants us to kiss right?”

            “Yeah,” Derek says, nodding. He steps closer to Stiles. He’s still far enough away that Stiles doesn’t feel like he’ll suffocate, but he’s just close enough that Stiles wants to breathe him in.  _Since when has he had a thing for Derek Hale?_  Okay, so probably for a while. They never talked about it, but Stiles is pretty sure Derek had a little idea about it too. “That’s what I signed up for.”

            “To kiss me?” Stiles asks, sounding stupid. He hates Derek for making him sound stupid.

            “To kiss a stranger,” Derek corrects. He steps forward again, and holds out a hand. Stiles grabs it, hoping Derek’s senses don’t pick up on his heart beat. That, of course, is totally not going to happen. “Derek.”

            “Stiles,” he breathes. You try speaking to a smoking hot, broody guy like Derek and sound as though you’re in complete control of yourself. Stiles would like to see you try. He doesn’t let go of Derek’s hand immediately, but steps forward himself. Okay, so Derek wants to kiss him. Or he doesn’t want to ruin Caitlin’s experiment. That would mean that Derek has a soft spot for Caitlin though, and Derek doesn’t really do soft spots. “Nice to, um, meet you.”

            Then he lets out a nervous laugh. Some nerves leave with it, and Derek offers him the smallest smile. Stiles bets the camera doesn’t even catch it. Derek nods. “Nice to meet you too.”

            His other hand reaches and grabs a hold of Stiles’ free hand. They’re holding hands now. Stiles can’t remember ever being _this_  close to Derek, except maybe when one of them fell asleep accidentally on other...or, rather, whenever Stiles falls asleep on Derek’s shoulder. Derek never fell asleep on Pack Nights. He always seems so tense on Pack Nights, whereas Stiles relaxes far too well. Plus Derek always smells so good, that it kind of lulls Stiles into a catnap.

            “So...” Stiles says, glancing down at Derek’s lips. “We’re going to kiss.”

            “Yep,” Derek responds. There’s no hesitation, no confusion, no nothing. Stiles wants to glance at Caitlin, but knows that it’ll make her video look awkward.

            This  _is_  for Caitlin.

            He nods. “Do you want to tilt your head and go for it, or would you rather we—”

            He doesn’t finish. Derek presses his lips against Stiles’s. It’s not hard and rough as Stiles had expected ( _whoa, he had expectations now?_ ). It’s soft, tender, and almost...dare he think it... _loving_. That’s...nice. It’s so nice. Derek doesn’t press too hard, but he lets one of his hands leave Stiles’ to wrap at the back of his neck. Stiles leans into Derek’s kiss, putting his free palm onto his chest, and then melts.

            Are his knees a little weak?  _Is this actually happening right now?_

            Stiles goes with the slow pace at first, pulls back for a second, only to press hard onto Derek’s mouth. He pushes Derek to give him more; to kiss him senseless, but Derek slows him down again. Stiles moans. It’s so soft, that he can only hope the camera doesn’t catch it. He finds that Derek’s hand has wandered down to his lower back, pulling him in  _real_  close.

            Wow, wow, wow. Stiles is  _kissing_  Derek Hale. Who the fuck would’ve thought this would’ve happened? Derek tugs at Stiles’ bottom lip, and hesitates before planting one more quick kiss onto his lips.

            Stiles doesn’t move for a long moment. He nestles into Derek, feeling safe in his arms, and then a noise comes from somewhere outside their bubble.

            He jumps back, and looks at Caitlin, who had cleared her throat. She’s grinning from ear to ear though, her expression very similar to Scott’s ‘Kira face’. “Wow, I was  _so_  not expecting you two to take this so seriously. That was  _awesome_.”

            Stiles pulls completely away from Derek now. Yeah, that was more than awesome. He doesn’t look at his pack member though. God, Pack Night is  _so_  going to be awkward now. “Is that all you needed from us?”

            “I want to watch you exchange numbers!” Caitlin says. “After you talk about how it felt though.”

            Stiles lets out a nervous laugh now. He glances at Derek. “Well, I feel like I just got to know you on a whole new level.”

            Derek grunts. “That was...interesting.”

            Deciding to take a leap, Stiles adds, “Do we just like...make out some more?”

            Derek’s eyes flash. They’re a werewolf blue, and Stiles can’t resist the laughter that escapes his lips. Derek holds out his cell phone. Stiles happily types in his number because he wants it to realistic for Caitlin since he totally ruined part of her project.

            “You better call me, you handsome thing,” Stiles teases. Derek’s narrowed eyes makes Stiles want to keep going. The worst of it was over. Well, the  _best_  of it was over. Since that would never happen again, Stiles could tell. Since his nerves are still going crazy, he might as well have some fun. “If you don’t, you will be  _very_  disappointed.”

            “Will  _I_  now?” Derek mutters loudly. He takes Stiles’ phone to do the same.

            Stiles stops speaking when he realizes his number on Derek’s phone comes up under the contact “ **The Human Survivor** ”. Well, well,  _that_ ’s interesting.

            “Oh yeah,” Stiles says once his heart has calmed down a bit. “There’s more where  _that_  came from.”

            “I think  _I_  was the one in control of  _that_ ,” Derek says, but there’s a twinkle in his eyes. Stiles barely catches it.

            “Was that a  _joke_?” Stiles demands, but the amusement bounces off his voice.

            “No,” Derek promises. He leans close to Stiles, to personally return Stiles’ phone to his pocket. “But I think  _you_ ’ll be the disappointed one if I don’t text you.”

            Stiles nods. “Oh yeah.”

            “You admit it? Just like that?” Derek asks, not stepping away.

            “Oh  _yeah_ ,” Stiles breathes.

            Derek suddenly straightens and takes three steps back. He turns to Caitlin. “Do you need anything else?”

            “Nope!” Caitlin says. Wow, her grin seems to have gotten  _bigger_. If that’s even possible.

            “Great. Let me know the results.” Derek stalks out of the studio.

            Stiles leans back on his heels, impressed. “Holy shit, who  _was_  that guy?”

            He  _knows_  who that was. He knows, but he still wants Caitlin to confirm that he isn’t in some sort of dream.  _Because oh my god_.

            “Derek Hale,” Caitlin tells him. “I’m friends with his little sister, Cora. She mentioned that it’d be interesting to see you two together.”

            Stiles’ snaps his attention from the door Derek just left through to Caitlin. “ _Cora_  told you to put us together?”     

            “Do you know Cora?”

            “Not well,” Stiles mutters. He grabs his backpack. “Text me when you want to do your follow-up, Caitlin. See you.”

            “Thanks again!” she shouts, sounding far too pleased with herself.

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞

 

            When he enters his dorm room, Stiles immediately dials Cora. She lets it go through the first five times he tries calling. Then she picks up with a short, “ _What_?”

            “ _Derek Hale_ ,” he hisses. “You told Caitlin to make me kiss  _Derek Hale_. Your  _brother_.”

            Cora snorts. “Oh my god, she went through with that?! Shut up. Did you  _kiss_  Derek?”

            “Cora, how could you?” Stiles demands. He’s not upset in the least. How could he be? He fucking kissed  _Derek Hale_. While Stiles wouldn’t have verbally admitted it, he’d always found Derek to be a sex god just walking around, doing his werewolf thing. He wouldn’t have touched that little, itty-bitty crush because he hadn’t even thought Derek was bisexual.

            She just makes a humming noise of amusement before she asks, “Why didn’t you tell Caitlin that you knew each other?”

            “I don’t know. Derek didn’t either!” Stiles rushes to add.

            Cora just makes a humming noise that Stiles knows all too well. Lydia makes the same damn noise when she’s thinking something and refuses to say what. He sighs in annoyance. “Was it good?”

            “Was it good?” Stiles echoes. “ _Was it good_? Yes, it was...god, Cora, your brother can  _kiss_.”

            “Oh gross, Stiles,” Cora teases. “Listen, I have to get back to class. But I’m glad you finally did  _something_  about all that sexual tension. I’m showing up to Pack Night just to see it in action!”

            “You’re not part of—” Stiles doesn’t finish what he’s saying because she’d hung up on him. “Damn girl,” he mutters to himself. He flops on his bed, and exhales deeply. What the hell is he going to do now?

            He calls Lydia, and leaves her a voicemail. Honestly, he doubts she’ll call him back until she calls to get him to pick her and Jackson up at the airport. Stiles runs a hand through his hair.

            There are a million things to think about regarding his kiss with Derek. Naturally, this is when he finds himself extremely productive with homework because he can’t think about kissing Derek Hale. He’d just keep thinking about it, and then he’d be 50 years old and have no idea what happened.

            Derek freaking Hale and Stiles had kissed. Wow.

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞

 

            When Stiles shows up to Pack Night, he’s nervous. He hadn’t told anyone except Lydia, who had predictably waited to call him back until she was at the airport, and she knows how to keep a secret. Stiles isn’t surprised when Cora opens the door, so he glares at her, and pushes his way in. He is, however, surprised to see Peter hanging out in the kitchen with Kira and Allison. He turns to Cora. “Peter’s here?”

            “Yeah, it’s a huge pack reunion,” she jokes.

            “Uh.”

            “I know, I know. I’m not part of the pack. God, you spend so much time talking to me, but I’m not pack.” She rolls her eyes.

            “It was  _your_  choice to not be part of the pack,” Stiles argues. “You could be, if you wanted to be.”

            “It’s not my thing,” she says, shrugging. “Nothing against Scott, who seems to have gotten his shit together.”

            “You’re not kidding,” Stiles jokes. He sees Scott’s head snap up.

            “Buddy! Come join us. We’re about to settle on the movie,” Scott says.

            “Yeah, right. It’s  _my_  turn to choose,” and so Stiles walks into the living room. He’d made Derek buy a beautiful television, and had given him his old DVD player. Derek had grumbled about the big purchase, but had admitted a few weeks ago that it was a good investment. Stiles glances at Derek, who walks off to the kitchen, and then decides to ignore him back.

            The guy hadn’t texted him, so Stiles is annoyed. Truth is Stiles had started about ten thousand, maybe ten million, texts to Derek that he had all stopped typing.

            What the hell is he supposed to say _?_

_“Thanks for the great make out session, let’s do it again!”_

_“You’re amazing at kissing. Teach me?”_

_“That was awkward, lol!”_

            Yeah,  **no**.

            Erica and Boyd show up next. Erica comes over to hug Stiles. She whispers, “Cora told me what she did. Boy, do you have  _many_  details to tell me. Date night on Tuesday?”

            Stiles leans away from the hug, and nods. “Sure, sounds good.” He shoots a dirty look at Cora who only smirks.

            Fuck, who else knows?

            “Hey man,” Boyd says. Stiles grins, pushing the fact that Erica knows out of his mind, and hugs Boyd. He’s always liked Boyd, even if the man had conned him out of fifty bucks when he was a human. Damn man knows how to stand his ground. “How are you?”

            “I’m great,” Stiles lies. God he misses social interaction that isn’t Scott mooning over Kira. “How are you?”

            “Awesome,” Boyd responds. That’s it. Conversation over. Stiles doesn’t mind, because Isaac shows up with the twins and their dates.

            He greets them all, and flirts with Danny a little. Ethan rolls his eyes. “Please, Stiles, you couldn’t get Danny if you actually tried.”

            “Says you!” Stiles jokes.

            “And maybe, oh I don’t know,  _me_?” Danny teases.

            “Oh Danny,” Stiles dramatically says. “How could you break my heart like that?”

            “Eh, you’ll get over it. Move on to mediocre and smaller things,” Danny says with a wink.

            Stiles snorts, but finds himself laughing when Ethan nods enthusiastically in agreement. Stiles remembers a time when all he wanted was to be acknowledged as attractive by Danny, who never gave him the time of day. Now he just joked about wanting that attention.

            Ethan had threatened Stiles once, but Stiles assured him that Danny loves him. It hadn’t taken too much convincing, and then Stiles had watched Ethan sit down muttering about love and human/werewolf relationships.

            His eyes move away from the conversation toward Derek, who has his arms crossed and his werewolf blue eyes out. He’s glaring at Danny, whose jacket is being taken off by Ethan. Cora swats at Derek to distract him, murmuring something, and then Derek just stalks over to his usual loveseat.

            God Stiles wishes he isn’t here right now. Derek clearly wants nothing to do with him, and all Stiles can think is  _how fine_ Derek’s jeans are. Because  _my god_ , they are  _fine_. They’re tight enough that Stiles bets he could see a tent if Derek is a little turned on.

             _Fuck_ , Stiles thinks. He shouldn’t be here right now.  _He_ ’s going to be the one sporting a boner if he doesn’t stop. How could he not almost get one though? Derek wears this tight black V-neck. How fucking  _hot_  is that?

            Stiles mentally groans. Nope, he will not think about how soft Derek’s lips were against his. No, he will not. He’s not here right now. He’s...alone in his dorm, thinking of Derek again, as his hand does some naughty stroking. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

            He wants to be there, because Derek just growled at something Ethan said and there’s nothing on this Earth hotter than Derek growling. Except maybe Derek naked.

             _Control yourself, Stiles._

            Stiles hesitates, but when Scott demands to start the movies, he decides to sit in his spot beside Derek.

            Only five minutes later, Derek gets up to go to the washroom. Stiles sighs in frustration. Okay, so apparently they aren’t going to pretend nothing happened.

            Stiles’ phone buzzes in his pocket a few minutes later.

 

**THE KING:** _this is too weird.  
_

**STILES:** _why? it doesn’t have to be...  
_

**THE KING:**   _I can smell your feelings. you don’t want me here.  
_

**STILES:** _do YOU want me here?  
_

**THE KING:** _yeah._  
  
            That’s it. One word, and then Derek comes back into the living room. He quietly sits down beside Stiles, and doesn’t look at him.

 

**STILES:** _you misinterpreted my feelings.  
_

**THE KING:** _how?  
_

**STILES:** _I don’t want to be here right now because..._

 

            Should he do it? He hesitates, but when Derek glances up at him from his phone, Stiles starts typing.  
  


**STILES:** _...because I’d rather be naked with you somewhere else._

 

            There. He sent it. There’s something somewhat hot about telling Derek how he wants him in a dark room full of people.

            “Someone needs to get a room,” Aiden announces.

            Stiles’ head snaps over into the darkness of the room.

            “Sorry,” Erica purrs. “You’ve all seen my husband, right?”

            Some groans from the werewolves ensue. Someone, Isaac maybe, shouts, “Keep it in your pants, god. You smell...I don’t want to think about how you smell.”

            Stiles glances over at Derek, who’s studying him with his razor sharp eyes.

           

**THE KING:** _maybe you should complain of a human headache.  
_

**STILES:** _oh yeah? and miss Scott watching Star Wars for the first time? no way!  
_

**THE KING:** _Your body doesn’t agree..._

 

            Stiles focuses on steadying his breath. He glances around to see Scott making out with Kira. That means he hasn’t been paying attention to the movie  _at all_. Fucking Scott...giving Stiles no reason to hang around. Stiles  _loves_  Scott.

            “Hey guys, I’m sorry...I just have this huge headache that I thought I could ignore.” Stiles stands up. Someone pauses the movie, and another person flicks a dim light on. “I think I need to go sleep it off.”

            “Sorry to hear that man,” Scott says after pulling away from Kira’s face. He frowns. “I’ll let you know what I think of the movie!”

            “If you stop sucking face long enough,” Aiden mutters.  _He’s one to talk_.

            “Take some Aspirin,” Allison tells him. “And drink lots of water.”

            “Will do,” Stiles says.

            He spends a few minutes giving everyone hugs, and receiving kisses on the cheek from the girls, Scott, and Danny. Stiles glances at Derek, who is standing up now too. “I’ll drive you home. I know how shitty of a driver you are on good health.”

            “Hey!” Stiles says, offended.

            No one questions why Derek’s leaving with him though. Cora’s eyebrows jump up and down, Lydia looks amused, and Erica is making an inappropriate face. Stiles wants to leave  _now_ , so he rushes to put his shoes on.

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞

 

            The drive back to his dorm room is quiet. Stiles can almost never stop talking, but apparently if you put him in a car with a fucking gorgeous guy  _who may or may not be taking him home to have sex with him_ , Stiles won’t say a word.

            “What are you thinking?” Derek finally asks, breaking the silence. “You’re too quiet.”

            “This is insane,” Stiles says. He looks at Derek, who almost visibly deflates. “I’m so fucking excited.”        

            “Yeah?” Derek grunts.

            “I don’t know why,” Stiles starts, “that you didn’t tell Caitlin that you knew me but...”

            “Probably for the same reason you didn’t tell her you knew me,” Derek interrupts.

            “Which is?” Stiles nudges Derek.

            “Curiousity.” Derek pauses before adding, “You’re the most curious person I know. It’s part of your  _scent_ , it’s so much of who you are.”

            “What’s my scent like?” Stiles asks.

            Derek grunts. “Teenage boy who spends too much time in front of his computer screen with his hand down his pants, dirty socks, those damn Fruit Loopers that you always eat—”

            “ _Fruit Loops_ ,” Stiles corrects.

            “—and a lot of just... _Stiles_. You smell curious  _all the time_.” Derek frowns as they pull into the driveway. “Go home, Stiles.”

            “Wait,  _what_? You’re just driving me home? What about...?” Stiles falters. Wow. Derek is such an asshole. “ _You led me on, you jerk!_ ”

            “I didn’t not led you anywhere,” Derek mutters. “Just go home, go to sleep, and don’t...just forget we kissed. Okay?”

            “Asshole,” Stiles mutters. “You’re such an asshole! How could you?  _You_  let it be weird.  _You_  told me it was weird. And...and then you suggest I get a headache.  _What is wrong with you_? You just kicked me out of  _pack night_? I’m part of the pack, you ass.”

            Stiles doesn’t wait for an answer, but gets out of the car. He ducks his head back in, to see Derek studying his steering wheel. Stiles shakes his head. “You can also  _smell_  how much I  _want_  you, can’t you?” Derek doesn’t reply. “Yep, you’re an asshole.”

            He slams the door shut, and pulls out his cell phone.

 

 **STILES:**   _Cora, your brother is a douchebag.  
_

**CORA:** _Huh? I thought you were gonna go have sexy times!  
_

**STILES:**   _so did I, Cora. so did I.  
_

**CORA:** _Are you mad at me for setting you guys up with Caitlin?  
_

**STILES:**   _nawh. he’s pretty freaking sexy. and a good kisser. I’mma go to bed now, I guess.  
_

**CORA:** _I’ll yell at him for you, bb.  
_

**STILES:** _no, don’t do that. he’s had a shitty life as it is. so have you. <3  
_

**CORA:**   _Stiles, I’m pretty sure my brother and I are okay._

 

            Stiles doesn’t reply to the last message. Truth is, he’s pretty sure that Derek isn’t okay.

            Tempted to throw his phone across the room, he hesitates before rereading his conversation with Derek tonight. It takes him less than a minute to finish. Derek  _hadn’t_  promised him anything. It had been implied, yes, but it  _is_  Derek. Who knows what goes on in his tortured mind?  
  
 **STILES:** _d, I’m sorry for being a jerk. you don’t owe me anything. you’re not an asshole.  
_

**THE KING:** _I just changed my mind, Stiles.  
_

**STILES:** _I know. sorry.  
_

**THE KING:**   _it’s fine. I won’t chase you away next Pack Night. deal?_

 

            Stiles thinks it’s almost poetic that only now does Derek chase him away. When they’re finally close enough to explore...whatever this thing is. Derek hadn’t chased him away before, not when he should have.

 

 **STILES:**   _deal. night, d.  
_

**THE KING:** _night Stiles.  
_ **THE KING:** _you’re right. you’re pack and I shouldn’t have driven you home._   


**STILES:**   _night, d._

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞

 

**CAITLIN:** _Hey Stiles, can we schedule our follow-up interview for next week?  
_

**STILES:**   _sure thing. how about Thursday at 4pm?  
_

**CAITLIN:** _Great! I’ll make sure the studio’s available and so is Derek.  
_

**STILES:** _great!_

 

             _Greaaaaaaaaaaaat_. Of course, he won’t let Caitlin down, but he also hopes that Derek doesn’t have a conscious and will let her down instead. Stiles can almost guarantee that he won’t though. It won’t be because he wants to see Stiles, no. It’ll be because Derek sucks at letting people down. Stiles admits the man is bad at relationships in general, but Derek had always refused to give up trying. Well, if you don’t consider the fact that he was willing to kill Jackson, Lydia and...hey, he’d learned by the time it came to Stiles. And that’s the most important thing.

            He’s changed. He’d learned how to be better at relationships. Hell, he hosts their Pack Night every other week. He’d gotten the television, had always supplied the snacks, pop, and hell even alcohol occasionally. Yet Derek still sucks at friendships with Stiles. It’s not the first time they hadn’t gotten along, and it wouldn’t be the last.

 

 **THE KING:**   _so next Thursday at 4pm._

 

            That’s it. The asshole thought that  _that_ ’s an acceptable text message. Stiles would show him.

 

 **STILES:**   _yep._

           

            How’s that for a shitty text? Stiles, feeling a little proud of himself, glances up at Scott. Of course, Scott’s buried in his phone messages with Kira. Why they bothered to keep up this charade of “doing papers” together, Stiles isn’t sure. Clearly, Scott would rather be curled up with Kira right now. Not that Stiles could really blame him.

 

 **THE KING:**   _how are you?_

 

            Oh. Well this is interesting. Stiles kicks his feet up onto an empty chair beside him. He stretches out a little.

 

**STILES:** _great. at the library with Scott, but he’s drooling over Kira.  
_

**THE KING:** _nothing new. you bored?  
_

**STILES:** _always.  
_

**THE KING:**   _feel like getting coffee?  
_

**STILES:** _not with you, no._

 

            Stiles knows it’s a little too far, but he likes to create a little drama.

 

 **THE KING:**   _fair enough. how has your week been?_

 

            Or apparently, Stiles thinks, he didn’t create any drama at all.

 

**STILES:** _fine, boring, nothing ever changes. how are you?_

 

            He glances back at Scott, who looks up. “Who are  _you_  texting?

            Stiles rolls his eyes. “Since when have you ever noticed what I do while we’re here?”

            Scott looks like a sad puppy dog. “Hey.”

            “Sorry, I’m texting—” Stiles hesitates and then shrugs. “I’m texting Derek.”

            Scott’s eyebrows rise. “About  _what_? He only ever texts when something bad happens.”

            “Oh no, he’s, uh, he’s asking me how my week’s been.” Stiles wonders if Scott notices that he’s a little nervous answering these questions.

            “How  _has_  your week been?” Scott asks, sounding more worried that he’d missed something big that  _Derek_  had noticed. He leans in, giving Stiles his classic worry look.

            Stiles lets out a laugh. “Boring, dull, nothing’s changed man, don’t worry.”

            “Are you sure?” Scott asks. He looks at Stiles’ phone. “Then why is Derek asking you how you’ve been?”

            “Peter probably told him to keep in touch for Pack Night or something,” Stiles says with a shrug. “Hell, for all I know, it’ _s_  Peter who’s texting me.”

            Scott nods, accepting that. He leans back in his chair. “Stiles? Are you...unhappy?”

            “Kinda,” Stiles answers honestly. “I mean, I’m more bored than anything. Everyone’s all paired up, and I’m just...” he waves around, “here.”

            “Oh.” Scott frowns. “Oh you feel left out, and of course, here I am, texting Kira. I’m so sorry, Stiles.”

            “I’m not—” His phone goes off.

 

 **THE KING:**   _I’m alright. it’s the anniversary of the fire—_

 

            Stiles doesn’t finish reading the text message. “I gotta go, Scotty.”

            “Is it supernatural related?” Scott asks, as Stiles shoves all his stuff into his backpack.

            “No,” he tells him. “I won’t be making it to class this afternoon. Just...hand this in for me.”

            Stiles tosses his paper, with edit marks on it, at Scott. He gives him a quick nod before he heads out of the library.

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞ 

           

            Within twenty minutes, Stiles finds himself pulling up to the old Hale house. He parks his Jeep, god he loves this old thing, before he takes a minute to breathe deeply. The truth is he hadn’t thought twice about coming here, and that thought scares him a little.

            “Derek,” he says. He doesn’t raise his voice, because Derek would hear him. He trusts that. After everything they’ve been through, Stiles knows that Derek’s senses are always on high alert.

            He starts to walk up the old path to the house, and pauses when he spots Derek sitting with his face in his hands on the porch.  _God, this poor kid._  No matter how old he is, Stiles will always think that he’s that poor kid who lost his family, who blames everything and anything on him, and that all he wants in life is a family he can trust and love.

            “Aw, Derek. Why are you here all alone?” Stiles asks, as he walks up. He glances around. He definitely doesn’t sense that anyone else is here...with his good old human senses.

            Derek glances up at him. “Why did you come, Stiles?”

            “You came on the anniversary of my mom’s death for me three months ago,” Stiles points out. He doesn’t sit down beside Derek, even though his entire being wishes he would. Stiles settles to pace slowly in front of him instead. “Not that I understand what it’s like to lose an entire—”

            “Loss is loss, Stiles,” Derek interrupts. “Thanks.”

            “Whoa,” Stiles says, holding both his hands up. “I don’t think you’ve ever said thanks to me before.”

            Derek studies him, and nods.

            “Where are Peter and Cora?” Stiles asks.

            “Shopping, probably. Sometimes Peter goes to the bar to get drunk, but Cora didn’t want him to today.” Derek keeps his eyes on Stiles as Stiles sits beside him. “They don’t like to think or talk about it.”

            “And you?” Stiles asks him. “Do you like to think and talk about it?”

            “No,” Derek snaps. He hesitates before saying, “I’ve never had anyone to listen to me before. I just...I like the idea of remembering my family, remembering who they were, and how it used to be. I feel like it’s...honouring them.”

            Stiles reaches out, going only off his instinct, and places a hand on Derek’s knee. “Then talk to me about them. Tell me stories.”

            Derek glances at him.

            It takes a few minutes, before Derek speaks again. “This one time—it was around Christmas—my mom came home with a huge announcement. She wanted to take as away on vacation. Laura couldn’t have that, didn’t want that. She wanted to stay right here in Beacon Hills because she had a crush on a boy. He’d asked her out during the week my mom wanted to go away...and Laura didn’t want to change the date.”

            Derek continues the story, in a soft voice, capturing Stiles’ full attention. He sometimes pauses to chuckle, or to smile, which makes Stiles realize that he hasn’t seen Derek smile often enough. The man could end a war with that smile. Derek launches into another story, and another. Sometimes Stiles asks questions, but for the most part, he silently listens.

            By the time Derek takes a break, the sun has started to set and a breeze comes out. Derek takes off his leather jacket and throws it around Stiles’s shoulder. “Thanks for being here.”

            “Yeah, of course,” Stiles whispers, with his usual bubbly nod. “Where else would I be?”

            “In class?” Derek suggests, which makes Stiles shakes his head.

            “No, not on the anniversary, Derek. Does the pack know that--?”

            “No. Even Peter and Cora wouldn’t tell them.” Derek puts his hand on Stiles’s, which has been sitting on Derek’s knee for the past three hours. “I’m sorry for leading you on, Stiles. My mother would have yelled at me and grounded me for behaviour like that.”

            Stiles laughs. “Really now?”

            “Yeah, she would’ve liked you.” Derek smiles at him, it’s small but it feels like the world to Stiles at that moment. “She wouldn’t have liked me upsetting you in any way. I just didn’t want to rush...whatever this could be.”

            Stiles swallows air. “Whatever... _this_  could be?”

            “Yeah. You and I.” Derek glances at him, and then looks away. “Have I ever given you a tour of this place?”

            “Well, not like officially.” Stiles finds himself being dragged up the porch stairs by Derek’s hand in his. Stiles laughs a little, but loses his amusement when Derek starts pointing out parts of the house connected with memories. He leads him upstairs, and takes him into his old bedroom.

            The room has some stuff left in it. Not everything had been destroyed in Derek’s old bedroom from the fire. By then, the firefighters must have come to put out the fire. It had been too late to save his family, but early enough to save his old room.

            “Wow, I wonder what Teen Derek was like. I think I would’ve enjoyed meeting him,” Stiles comments. He squeezes Derek’s hand. “I think I would’ve liked your family, Derek.”

            “They would’ve liked you too,” Derek murmurs. “Stiles, I have a confession to make.”

            “Fire away, handsome.”

            “I knew you’d come, if I told you...” Derek pauses. “C’mon.”

            Stiles doesn’t argue.

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞

            

 **THE KING:**   _so how are you?  
_

 **STILES:**   _I’m pretty sure that should be my question, d. I’m good. you?  
_

**THE KING:** _good. thanks for yesterday. coffee was good.  
_

**STILES:** _it was fun! you even stopped being a sourwolf for a bit there.  
_

**THE KING:**   _funny, Stiles.  
_

 **STILES:**   _wanna do it again?  
_

 **THE KING:**   _when?  
_

 **STILES:**   _how about Tuesday? my class ends at 5pm.  
_

**THE KING:** _I’ll pick you up then.  
_

**STILES:**   _want to come to my place and we can watch a movie instead?  
_

 **THE KING:**   _coffee’s safer, Stiles. I’ll pick you up at 5:10pm on Tuesday._

 

            Stiles grins widely at his phone. He glances up to see Scott coming toward him, to sit with him, only Scott looks more like a mopey puppy. Stiles sits up straight. “What’s wrong man?”

            “Kira got talking to our women and decided she needs more girl-time. Apparently, I’m too clingy.” Scott sighs. “Stiles, am I too clingy?”

            “Man, you know I love you but, yeah, yeah you are. You two literally  _never_  stop texting!” Stiles says, trying not to be amused.

            “That’s what she said!” Scott frowns. “I think we need to have a boys’ night. Kira suggested it. So Isaac and Boyd are going to come out with us tonight. Aiden’s down too, and Ethan as long as Danny can come. So it’ll be fun. I guess. I didn’t hear back from Derek though.”

            “Tonight?” Stiles questions. “It’s Friday.”

            “I know?” Scott asks.

            “Well, I have plans on Tuesday.”

            “Okay...?” Scott leans forward. “Buddy, are you okay?”

            “Yeah,” Stiles grins. “Let me text Derek and ask what he’s up to do. I’m sorry to hear that Kira wants some space, but it’s not as if you two broke up, right?”

            “Right,” Scott says, sounding less concern and sadder again.

 

 **STILES:**   _Kira wants a girls’ night tonight, so Scott is having a boys’ night. you wanna come keep me company?  
_

**THE KING:** _that sounds miserable.  
_

**STILES:**   _I’ll do my best to entertain you.  
_

 **THE KING:**   _alright, as long as I don’t have to drag your ass back to your dorm room drunk.  
_

**STILES:** _No promises._

 

            “Derek’s in,” Stiles interrupts whatever Scott had been saying. Dammit, he’s getting to be a crappy best friend. Scott smiles, and then frowns down at his paper. Stiles sighs. “Scott, you’re still together. She still loves you.”

            “I was going to propose tonight!”

            “Oh shit man. I say we have a new plan. Let’s go party crashing!” Stiles announces.

            “Okay!” Scott says, perking up. “Where would they go for girls’ night though?”

            “Lydia’s,” Stiles answers as though it’s obvious. “I bet you anything she’s coming home this weekend.”

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞

 

            A short phone call to Lydia, where she told him to keep his paws out of girls’ night, confirmed that Stiles is right. After a few text messages to Erica, Stiles also confirmed that all the pack women would be there. He grins brightly at Scott, who’s on the phone with Isaac and Boyd demanding to hatch a plan.

            Stiles hesitates before texting Derek.

 

 **STILES:**   _plans changed. Scott’s proposing to Kira tonight.  
_

**THE KING:** _aren’t they a bit young?  
_

**STILES:**   _they’re not getting married yet! god, what kind of best friend do you think I am?  
_

**THE KING:** _a sarcastic one.  
_

**STILES:**   _har-har_.

**THE KING:** _do I have to do anything?  
_

**STILES:** _just come and look pretty.  
_

**THE KING:** _oh god, now I’m going to have to go shopping.  
_

**STILES:**   _was that a joke?  
_ **STILES:** _omg, d, that was a joke! ahaha, I’m so proud of you, little wolfie!_

**THE KING** _: do you annoy Scott as much as you annoy me?_

**STILES:**   _you liiiiiike me, admit it. why else wouldn’t you have replied to Scott’s text?  
_

**THE KING:** _well, Stiles, I was hoping to be invited by you._

 

            Stiles freezes. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞

 

            “This is so stupid,” Isaac announces from beside Stiles and Derek in Lydia’s front lawn’s bushes. They’re crouched down as low as they possibly can. Stiles had signed him and Derek up for watchdog duty, but Isaac had wanted to tag along too which had crushed any of Stiles’s flirting plans.

            “It means you and Allison can do  _whatever_  you want, guilt-free though.” Stiles slaps a hand onto Isaac’s shoulder. “It means you can stop watching Scott with your puppy dog look. You both do it.”

            “Gee, thanks,” Isaac mutters. He looks at Derek. “I’m surprised you’re in on this too.”

            “The loft is boring,” Derek responds. “Sh, I think I smell Erica.”

            “We’re idiots. Erica’s gonna hear and smell us.” Stiles doesn’t say anything else, because Derek slaps a hand over his mouth. They all wait.

            Erica steps out of the passenger side of the car and giggles. “I’m sorry I drank so much already. I wasn’t planning on it!”

            Cora laughs. “I don’t care. I’m sure that’s the plan for tonight anyway. You’re just ahead of—”

             _Fuck_ , Stiles thinks.

            Derek and Isaac freeze.

            “Weird, I think I smell Stiles. Not surprising since he probably stalks Lydia,” Cora says, before she and Erica burst into giggles and enter the house.

 _What a dick_ , Stiles thinks. Derek takes his hand off his mouth. “I do  _not_  stalk Lydia.”

            “I think she knew I was here,” Derek mutters. “Probably said that to be nice. Fuck, Stiles, this is literally the worst plan ever. We’re trying to surprise  _werewolves_.”

            “And yet you’re here,” Isaac points out.

            “So are you, Lahey,” Stiles snaps. “It’s for  _Scott_  guys.”

            “Oh, here’s Allison. And there’s my cue. See you inside, lads.” Isaac hops out, casually opening the door for Allison.

            “Isaac, what are you doing here?” Allison asks suspicion full in her tone. He leans forward, whispers something into her ear that makes Derek cringe, and then she says, “Oh god, I don’t know how to explain this one to the girls. Come in. We’ll see what we can do.”

            “What did he say?” Stiles demands.

            “Nope, I’m not repeating it. Just know that Scott  _so_  owes him.” Derek shifts so he’s closer to Stiles.

            “Hi,” Stiles breathes. “I was annoyed that Isaac joined us because I wanted to do this.”

            Stiles’s hand slides up Derek’s thigh. He clamps his legs shut, holding Stiles’s hand hostage, and effectively embarrassing him. “Sorry, Derek. Sorry.”

            “Sh,” Derek hisses.

            After a moment, he parts his legs again and stops Stiles from pulling away. Derek leans close to Stiles. “Don’t think I’m rejecting you again, okay?”

            “But you are, and I’m sorry. God, that’s the second time I’ve come onto you and made you uncomfortable.”

            “Stiles? Shut up,” Derek says. He reaches out, grabs Stiles’s hand, and doesn’t let go. Derek texts Scott to say that the party has officially started, before he listens to hear if Isaac’s said the code word yet, and when he gets the answer, he relays the message to Scott.

            This then causes Scott, with his horse-drawn carriage, to come around the corner of the street. Derek sits back on his ass, and pulls Stiles down with him. Stiles doesn’t say anything, because Derek’s clearly listening in on Scott and Kira’s phone conversation.

            “They’re disgustingly cute together,” Derek mutters after a minute passes.

            “I know right? You should see how happy he is when he’s ignoring me,” Stiles tells him with a smile.

            His phone buzzes in his pocket.

 

 **CAITLIN:**   _So I could only get the studio for Monday at 1pm. That okay?  
_

 **STILES:**   _yeah, that’s fine.  
_

**CAITLIN:** _Perfect! It’s not exactly two weeks afterward, but close enough. Should I ask for teasers or?  
_

**STILES:** _you’ll get a good story. promise.  
_

**CAITLIN:** _Eeeeeek! Thanks. See you then!_

 

            “Cora set us up,” Derek says when Stiles shows him the conversation.

            “I know, Caitlin let it slip.” Stiles leans into Derek. “Erica knows too.”

            “Which means Boyd knows,” Derek says, sighing.

            “And Lydia,” Stiles adds.

            “Who probably told Allison,” Derek says. “Who probably told Isaac, who isn’t stupid, and can probably smell how horny I am for you.”

            “Oh if Isaac knows, then Scott definitely does. Isaac tells Scott everything.”

            “Leaving Kira to know too.”

            “And the twins would have caught on at Pack Night...”

            “So why hasn’t anyone mentioned it?” Derek asks.

            Stiles pokes Derek’s chest, pleased to find it rock hard. “Because  _you’re_  scary, and they probably don’t care.”

            “ _I’m_  the scary one.”

            “Well  _yeah_.”

            “But shouldn’t they have warned you off me?” Derek asks, frowning.

            “Why?”

            “Because...well, I don’t have the best...uh,  _track record_ , Stiles. Most of my lovers end up dead,” Derek mutters.

            “Is that why you’ve been avoiding this?” Stiles demands. Derek doesn’t need to acknowledge it for him to figure out that that’s a yes. “Oh my god, Derek. Firstly, you’re pack for a reason. We  _love_  you. Secondly, Derek, none of your past lovers were your fault. Peter conned you into turning Paige. Hell, he set up the biter. You had no way of knowing Kate Argent was going to go crazy and  _kill_  your family. And Jennifer, or Julia, whatever her name was, had everyone fooled. They’re not your fault. Plus, you know me. I’m skinny, defenceless Stiles.”

            “Aiden told you I said that?”

            “Aiden tells everyone you said that, because that’s the story about how he was right,” Stiles points out. “But cut me some slack. I’ve saved your life almost as many times as you’ve saved mine.”

            “Yeah, you’re not so defenceless.” Derek shrugs. “So you’re really okay with my past?”

            “If it’s what made you into this selfless guy I care about today, then yeah, I’m okay with your past.” Stiles grips his hand tightly. “Derek, I—”

            “Shh, look.”

            Derek draws his attention between the bushes. They watch as Kira comes out of Lydia’s house, yelling at Scott, and stopping in shock to see him stepping down from a carriage.

            “Kira, listen, I know you wanted your space. That’s fine. The only reason I was upset is because...well, there’s something I have to do,” Scott announces. He walks down the path towards her. The girls, plus Isaac, crowd the front door in curiousity.

            “Scott, what  _are_  you doing?” Kira demands.

            “Listen, we’ve been through so much, and it’s been so damn great with you. I love you, with my whole heart.” Scott gets down onto one knee, and gasps escape most of the girls.

            “Scott, stand up  _right now_ ,” Kira demands.

            “No. Kira, I love you. So much. You were the cute girl who did a bunch of research for the guy you barely knew. You trusted me, and let me trust you. You fought to save my best friend’s life, and you’ve fought hard to protect me, Beacon Hills, and everyone who lives there. You are this incredible woman that I am extremely lucky to have in my life. I want to show you how much I love you, every day, until we’re old. They say that a fox and a wolf don’t get along, but I  _know_  that you’re my soul mate.”

            Scott takes a deep breath. “Kira, we don’t have to do this next year, or for six years, but I want to ask you something. Will you marry me?”

            Erica snorts, but Stiles is positive she’s a little teary-eyed, even if he can’t see her very well. He sees Allison lean into Isaac, Cora grin widely, and Lydia smile brightly. Stiles turns to look at Derek, who is totally tearing up.

            “You big softie,” Stiles whispers. “That speech got to you.”

            “We won’t marry until we’re done college,” Kira says.

            “Stiles already made me promise,” Scott tells her earnestly.

            “Okay. Then my answer is...yes, yes, I’ll marry yo—” and Scott’s kissing her.

            Stiles hears it, but doesn’t see it, because Derek’s wiping away a tear.

            “Shut up, Stilinski. If anyone finds out about this, I  _will_  murder you.” Derek glares at him.

            “You could always kiss me instead.”

            So he does.

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞

 

            “So, after I made you exchange numbers, did you use them?” Caitlin asks. She sits behind the camera, looking professional and serious.

            Derek and Stiles glance at one another. Derek shrugs. “I did, yes.”

            “Were you able to be more open and honest with one another than you normally would have been if you’d just met?” Caitlin fires her next question.

            Stiles lets out a little nervous laugh. “Definitely. I learned quite a lot about Derek Hale.”

            “Are you two comfortable around each other on an intimate level now?” Caitlin asks.

            Derek leans forward, grabs Stiles’s hand, and nods. “Yes, definitely. We’re seeing each other now.”

            “Really?!” Caitlin asks, surprised.

            “Yeah,” Stiles confirms.

            “How did that come about?” Caitlin asks.

            Since they had agreed to not tell her the whole truth, Stiles glances at Derek. He speaks to Caitlin though when he says, “He took me home from a party. I pretended I had a headache and no ride, so Derek came to my rescue. We didn’t do anything that night. But then...then we went to get coffee on another day.”

            “And then Stiles roped me into helping his best friend get engaged. I sat in the bushes with him and watched it all. One of Stiles’ friend drove this horse-drawn carriage for his friend and new fiancée around town underneath the moon. It was a romantic setting so...we shared our second kiss.” Derek trails off. Stiles remembers how happy Erica had been when she had seen Boyd all dressed up to drive the carriage. She’d promised him some naughty things right there in front of everyone. Not quite as naughty as the things Stiles had heard Derek whisper to him the other night.

            “Then Derek invited me over for Family Night on Friday. We kissed again, and the rest is history.” Stiles grins widely.

            “Holy shit. You guys better be my success story!” Caitlin tells them laughing. “I’m so happy for you.”

            They look at one another. “I’m happy too.”

            “Me three,” Stiles murmurs.

            Stiles thinks back to this past Pack Night. Cora had ditched it since she’s not seeing anyone, Peter hadn’t shown up either, but  _finally,_ Derek and Stiles have the chance to be part of the couples’ night.

            Of course, Lydia had dumped Jackson’s ass when he’d called Scott an idiot for proposing. She had been flirting with Aiden, who had broken up with his girlfriend sometime during the week. Derek and he had taken their usual spots on the loveseat, only they had been completely intertwined in one another, making out since Scott chose another rom-com that no one wanted to watch.

            Stiles decides that life will never truly be boring. Not with the pack in his life, and not with Derek.

            “Think I could follow-up with you every few months?” Caitlin asks.

            “Yeah,” Derek tells her.

            “We’ll still be together,” Stiles says without any doubt.

 

♚♞♚♞♚♞

 

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback would be appreciated. Like a lot.
> 
> · [ my tumblr if you want it](http://www.foxerica.tumblr.com)


End file.
